WINCLE GRANGE WINCLE CHESHIRE

HERITAGE STATEMENT

November 2014

PETER DE FIGUEIREDO HISTORIC BUILDINGS ADVISER

1 Ingestre Road, Oxton, Wirral CH43 5TZ T: 0151 652 1027 M: 0771 7291947 E: peter@defigueiredo.co.uk W: www.defigueiredo.co.uk 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Wincle Grange Farmhouse is a Grade II\* listed building. Three separate farm buildings, described variously as Barn southwest of Wincle Grange, Barn west of Wincle Grange and Farm Building southeast of Wincle Grange are listed at Grade II. The property is set in a spectacular location within the Peak District National Park.

1.2 The property was acquired by the present owner, Mrs Carole Malkin and her late husband in the mid 1970s. It had previously belonged to Mr Malkin’s father, who bought it in the 1950s from the Swythamley Estate as a tenant farmer.

1.3 The property was in very poor condition when they acquired it, and over many years they carried out extensive repairs. These works included structural repairs, re-roofing, re-pointing of stonework, repair and replacement of decayed windows and doors, installation of new rainwater goods, re-wiring, new plumbing and insulation. With the large size of the property, its state of disrepair, and the limited income they received from farming, the Malkins phased the work over a long period of time.

1.4 In 2004 Mr Malkin was diagnosed with a terminal illness which became life-threatening in 2012, at which time they resolved to sell the property. On 7 January 2013 at a meeting at Wincle Grange with planning officers from the Peak District National Park Authority arranged to discuss the possibility of alternative use of the agricultural buildings by prospective purchasers, it was alleged that listed building control had been breached by carrying out alterations to the listed buildings without the requisite consent. Subsequent to the meeting a Schedule of Unauthorised Works was issued by the Authority requiring remediation and the submission of an application for listed building consent for various alterations made to the buildings.

1.5 In May 2013 Mr Malkin died, since when discussions have been held on behalf of Mrs Malkin in order to reach an accommodation with the Authority on the outstanding matters, so that she has the freedom to sell the property in the future. This has resulted in the current application for listed building consent, which is supported by this heritage statement.

2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 Wincle Grange began its life as a monastic grange for Combermere Abbey, a Cistercian foundation in South Cheshire. Ranulph III, earl of Chester, gave land at Wincle to establish a grange for the Abbey, probably during the first half of the 13th century.

2.2 During the 14th century the Abbey, along with its granges, was taken over by the Crown on more than one occasion due to financial problems. In the mid 14th century William de Praers leased Wincle Grange but in 1354 the lease was taken over by the Black Prince and was returned to the Abbey. 2.3 Combermere Abbey was dissolved in 1538 at which time Wincle Grange again became the possession of the Crown. It subsequently passed through a number of local families, and in 1851 was acquired by the Brocklehurst family, who held the nearby Swythmaley Hall estate from the early 19th century until the 1970s. Wincle Grange formed part of that estate until it was bought by the current owner’s family, who were formerly the tenant farmers. Reliant on farming income, they had limited resources to restore the buildings, and this remains the case today.

3 RELEVANT LISTED BUILDING LAW

3.1 Listed buildings are buildings which are included in a list approved by the Secretary of State. For the purposes of the law, a listed building comprises the building itself, any object or structure fixed to the building and any object or structure within the curtilage that forms part of the land and has done so since before 1 July 1948.

3.2 It is unlawful to demolish a listed building, or to carry out alterations (internally or externally) that affect its special architectural or historic interest without Listed Building Consent (LBC).

3.3 The law takes the view that LBC should be sought where there is a possibility that the special architectural or historic interest of a building could be damaged by any proposed works. It is a matter of fact and degree when determining whether any alterations actually affect the building’s character, and it is at the discretions of the Local Planning Authority (LPA) as to whether it brings any enforcement action. If the LPA believes that the works affect the special architectural or historical character of the building, it is entitled to take enforcement action regardless of when the works were carried out.

4 LISTED STATUS OF WINCLE GRANGE AND FARM BUILDINGS

4.1 Wincle Grange Farmhouse and the Barn south west of Wincle Grange were first listed by the Secretary of State in July 1952. On 14 April 1967 amendments were made to the list which included descriptions relating to these two buildings. The Barn west of Wincle Grange and the Barn south east of Wincle Grange were also added to the list. Wincle Grange Farmhouse was listed at Grade II\* and the three barns were listed at Grade II.

4.2 On 14 June 1984 the entire list for Wincle parish was amended. Updated entries for the four listed buildings, including new descriptions and notes, received approval from the Secretary of State. 5 PEAK DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY QUINQUENNIAL REVIEWS OF LISTED BUILDINGS

5.1 For more than 30 years the Authority has carried out regular inspections of all listed buildings within the National Park. The Authority’s records show that inspections were made of Wincle Grange on 13 July 1978, 6 September 1984, 30 September 1992, November 1999, and 5 October 2004. Observations were made on the survey forms and photographs were taken showing the external appearance of the buildings over this span of 35 years.

5.3 On none of these five occasions was contact made with the owners regarding the condition of the property or the identification of any unauthorised alterations.

5.4 It therefore came as a surprise to Mr and Mrs Malkin when in January 2013 a breach of listed building control was alleged to have taken place involving unauthorised alterations to the listed buildings going back over 30 years. This was particularly the case in view of the statement made in the Authority’s leaflet, Listed Building News 2011, featuring the quinquennial reviews, where it was stated that ‘unless an issue is identified you won’t be contacted again.’

6 THE LISTED BUILDING CONSENT APPLICATION

6.1 In early 2013 the Authority issued two Schedules of Unauthorised Works, one relating to the farmhouse, and the other to the farm building northwest of the farmhouse. In each document a list of alleged breaches were identified and, where appropriate, steps were set out for their regularisation.

6.2 Following discussions between the Authority and Mrs Malkin’s agent, the Schedules were amended, as confirmed in a document received from the Authority on 25 June 2014. This amended document has formed the basis of the current application for listed building consent which is fully detailed in the applications drawings and summarised in the accompanying Schedule of Rectifications Works. The application consists of a number of proposals related to the farmhouse and the farm building northwest of the farmhouse that will rectify breaches of consent, including replacement of windows to match those formerly existing, and replacement of all external guttering and pipework in cast iron, as well as regularising some alterations already carried out for which the Authority will consider granting retrospective approval.

6.3 There will remain some unauthorised works. The Authority has agreed that these can remain in situ until a future owner decides to submit a Listed Building Consent application for suitable replacements.

6.4 It is considered that the proposals will lead to a considerable enhancement to the heritage assets and satisfactorily remedy the breach of listed building control.